Sage has confirmed that it has closed a deal with Microsoft that will see Sage software delivered over Windows Azure and thankfully it won’t just be pure accounting software - the plan is to develop “some” of its ERP solutions for the cloud.
Sage has started developing the finance, CRM and BI-capable Sage 200 suite in the UK, (as well as Sage Murano in Spain), for Windows Azure. They will also be interoperable with Microsoft Office 365. This level of integration is a pragmatic decision but that plus the use of the Azure platform is giving rise to renewed speculation that Sage will become an acquisition target for Microsoft or private equity firms. Sage is frequently the subject of acquisition rumours so we are not taking the latest speculation seriously. As far as the products are concerned, pilots are expected later this year with release slated for an unspecified time in 2013.
The alliance will move Sage’s cloud developments forward but as we said yesterday (see here) movement is slow and the approach is piecemeal. Sage makes a selection of its applications available via the cloud and Azure will add another, separate delivery platform. Sage’s commitment to the cloud still looks half-hearted and it lacks a coherent strategy. If it developed its international ERP X3 suite for Azure, that would be a statement of intent and drive more competition against the like of NetSuite.